Accidents and Revelations
by Phoenixfyretail
Summary: After being wounded during a battle, Marina is nearly killed. Masrur manages to bring her back, but will this reveal things that neither of them knew about the other? Masrur x OC (IN CHARACTER MASRUR!)


Masrur gazed uneasily up at the scene above the trees. Marina, one of his few friends, was fighting in a deadly battle against a flesh eating bird, but she was holding her own well. As she continued to knock it back with deadly and powerful kicks, he studied the creature and her fighting style, knowing that we would need to make a report to Sinbad later. The bird itself was huge, and had ruffled gray feathers mottled with black, and its dark eyes were rimmed by red sclera. The scaly skin on its legs and feet were an eerie black, and its claws shone with a dark sheen. She slammed yet another kick to its face, and he raised an eyebrow in mild surprise when it was revealed to have teeth inside its beak.

Masrur could see that Marina was beginning to tire slowly, as she had been fighting hard for a while, and unfortunately, so could the bird. Marina landed on yet another tree branch, and sprang up again to deliver a last kick, when the bird caught her off guard. It knocked her aside with a bite around her ankle, and raked its sharp talons along her back, knocking her unconscious in the process. The blood immediately swelled around the deep gouges along the length of her back.

The despicable bird threw her up in the air by her ankle, and sent her flying with a blow from its huge wings, her red hair streaming around her prone form. Eyes glittering with anger, Masrur leapt from the branch where he had been perched, and landed the killing blow to the bird, sending it flying away. His dark red eyes searched desperately for Marina. He heard the splash a few seconds later, and he raced away as fast as his feet could go, as she had evidently landed in the ocean, and she was unconscious.

The bird hit the ground as he raced away, squawking as it breathed its last breath, and it laid there as it died, unable to move any longer. He made it to the Oceanside, and after locating where she had landed, he tossed his pack and sword behind him, and dove under. Masrur was an excellent swimmer, and he could hold his breath for a considerable length of time, almost as long as Hinahoho.

He swam after her sinking form, and he knew that he was running out of time, due to the amount of blood in the water. He reached her, and cringed as he gathered her close. Marina was limp, her body moving with the water, hair waving around her unconscious form. He held her close to his chest with one arm, and began swimming as fast and as powerfully as he could to reach the shore.

As he darted toward the surface, he became more and more worried about the amount of blood she was losing. When he finally made it up on shore, he laid her body out, and without even bothering to try and dry himself, laid his head upon her chest, ear pressed against her heart. He initially didn't hear it, through the rush of his breathing and the beating of his frantic heart, but he heard it after a few seconds, and he his heart sank. It was beating, but very faintly, and she wasn't breathing.

He tilted her head back and pinched her nose, and pressed his mouth to hers, providing her with air. Masrur didn't think twice about it, his mind determined to focus on getting her to breathe again. He centered his hands on her chest, pressing down with the heels of his palms, trying to get the water out of her lungs. He had to breathe into her twice more before she moved, rolling to the side and coughing out the water she had inhaled. Masrur immediately helped her sit up, and she started trying to regulate her breathing, resting her forehead on his chest. He pulled his hand from her back and went to stroke her hair, but he saw the shade of his hand and his eyes widened.

"Mas...rur..." She gasped out. "Hurts..." Her eyes closed, her eyebrows furrowed, completely exhausted. "I know. Lay down, and let me take care of it." He sounded calm, calmer than what he actually felt. She complied slowly, resting on her front. Masrur critically studied the wounds upon her back, deeming them deep, but not deep enough to require a skilled healer. He reached for his pack and pulled out the bandages and ointment they always carried, and on second thought, he grabbed a knife as well. He cut the remains of her shirt off, and then used the destroyed fabric to clean the blood away.

He opened the small pot of medicine that she had shown him how to make a few weeks ago, as he didn't know much about forest medicine. He remembered watching her delicate fingers pick the plants and herbs she needed, and showing him how to grind the plant matter into a paste. Carefully, he applied the medicine along the edges of the shreds along her back, and Marina sighed as the medicine came into contact with her back.

"Thank you, Masrur." He continued spreading ointment on the wounds, but replied, his deep voice rumbling low. "I should be apologizing for letting you get into so much danger, but you're welcome."

He finished with the medicine and motioned for Marina to sit up so he could bandage the wounds closed, but she blushed and hesitated. He raised an eyebrow in question, not thinking for a moment, and she looked away.

"Umm... Well... I don't have anything to cover my breasts..." She trailed off, embarrassed. He mentally face palmed, and flushed slightly in embarrassment, but dug in the pack to find her small bag of clothing. He handed it to her and turned his back, waiting for her to cover herself so he could bandage the wounds closed. He heard a gentle rustling of cloth, and her quiet voice, "You can turn around now."

He did so, and his eyes widened at the sight. She had her back to him, and she was sitting up, but he could clearly see that she was just holding a shirt close to cover her breasts, so he had complete access to her back. He caught himself starting to stare, but he shook his head, and picked up a roll of bandages.

He started at her lower back, wrapping the bandages firmly around her slim torso, knowing that he wouldn't hurt her, as she was a fanalis. As he kept wrapping the cloth around the wounds, the top of his knuckles brushed the undersides of her breasts, and she jerked in surprise. He froze briefly, but she didn't say anything, and he finished off the bandages, careful to not graze the mounds again.

Masrur checked the bandages, making sure they were secure and tight, and leaned back in relief, satisfied that they would hold. Marina turned to face him, and slipped her shirt on, her face still slightly pink with embarrassment. He scratched his neck, now feeling slightly awkward.

"As for what you said earlier, it's not your fault. I wasn't going to let you help me anyway, so there was nothing you could've done. It's my fault entirely, and I'm sorry to have worried you so much."

Masrur was slightly taken aback, not quite expecting that at all.

"I'm sorry for all the extra trouble you had to go to on my behalf. I really am." She continued, lowering her head in apology, and without realizing it, she had braced herself, almost as if expecting to be hit. She still had the slave persona in her mind.

Masrur winced at her bracing herself for the hit that wouldn't come, and he belatedly realized that his hands had come forward and had gently cupped her cheeks, raising her head. Her eyes were wide, and she clearly didn't know what was going on.

"What…?" Her voice was soft, confused, and she was utterly adorable in this moment of surprise. His eyes softened and he slowly moved in, tilting his head to a better angle. She parted her lips slightly in surprise at him being so close, and blushed furiously once she figured out why. And then, his lips met hers in a soft kiss, and she melted into him after the initial moment of surprise, her hands coming up to rest on his armored chest.

Masrur was surprised, to say the least, when his friend, now lover, responded to the kiss. She returned the feelings he had kept hidden for such a long time. He brought his hands to her hips, pulling her closer to him, and she moved her hands from his chest to his neck, bringing her chest close to him. He gently switched sides, careful to not tug on their piercings as he did so. She gasped for air, and met him again, and then she pulled back.

Masrur just pulled her to him, his arms loosely holding her, his face tucked into her shoulder, her still wet hair tickling his face. She just leaned on him, arms slipping down to his chest, exhausted. He smiled softly, and gently laid Marina down without hurting her back more, so he could go and acquire wood to build a fire. She watched as Masur went through the process of removing his armor, setting the various pieces near a tree to dry. He ventured off into the forest, where he adjusted the sash around his waist and gathered the wood and kindling he needed to build a fire.

When he returned, he lit the kindling and gradually fed it wood as the flames grew, needing a large fire to keep the animals at bay, and to dry them off. He went and found his sword from where it was laying a few yards away in the sand, where he had tossed it when he dove in to save Marina.

As they finally relaxed around the fire, having pushed their bedrolls together, Masrur watched as Marina tried and failed to get comfortable. He reached over and drew her into his lap, cushioning her head on his chest. She looked up at him with gratitude in her red eyes, and that was all the thanks he needed. She relaxed and drifted into sleep, and he just leaned back against a tree, holding her to him. One arm was loosely wrapped around her waist, the other gently cupped the back of his head.

Masrur gazed softly down at the girl. She wore just a simple shirt and a skirt, no sash or anything else adorning her. Though, once, he did remember when they attended a festival that she did get dressed up. He grinned with the memory, remembering that Sharrkan hadn't even recognized her. She had been wearing beautiful dark green dancing robes, and an elaborate silver necklace; a gift from him for her 18th birthday, with her hair tied up. He had been amazed at her initial appearance, and when he had been sitting down, lazily chewing on a fish skeleton, she had come over to see him. In the end, she had ended up sleeping in his room that night, in a need to be protected from a very drunk Sinbad.

He closed his eyes. How she had managed to worm her way into his heart was no mystery. Her never ending kindness, courage, and will to learn was all inspiring to him, and he loved her for it. Also, since she had previously been a slave, she was never cruel to anyone but slave owners, several of whom she had beaten brutally, and he had helped.

She was also beautiful, with her long, silky red hair, beautiful, angled red eyes, and she was quiet spoken, like him. Marina was also just a few years younger than him, but she knew much that he didn't, having grown up on the other side of the continent. He moved his hand up from her waist and began to stroke her hair, gazing at her sleeping form with soft eyes. She was laying against him, her face peaceful, and her body curled against his bare chest for warmth.

As he looked on, she opened her bright eyes a bit, the orbs sleepy. "Masrur?"

"Hmmm?" His deep voice rumbled low in his chest.

She looked slightly embarrassed. "I'm cold."

He smiled softly, slightly amused at the small complaint, happy that it wasn't that she was in pain. He shifted over, holding her to him, and laid down on his side, arm slipping around her waist, the other bending under his head, bicep forming a pillow. He was especially careful not to put any pressure on her wounds. She sighed, and nestled against him, her eyes closing in peace.

"Thanks Masrur, sleep well." And she drifted off, settling back to sleep. Masrur stayed awake for a while longer though, eyeing the forest around them. His eyes eventually came to rest on her fire like hair, and he brought his hand up, fingering the strands curiously. It was unbelievably soft, and the strands bore a hefty weight to them. He began to pet the lengths, stroking his fingers through her long hair. When the fire began to die down, he was torn between getting up and feeding the fire some more wood, or just staying put on the bedrolls with a sleeping Marina.

Masrur decided that getting up wasn't an option when she gently stretched and curled up some more, her face relaxed and soft. He watched with interest as she briefly mouthed the piercing in her lower lip before dropping into sleep again. He pulled her into his chest, and sighed quietly, closing his eyes. She tucked her head into his throat, and breathed softly once more, before becoming still again. Masrur smiled slightly, and then nestled down as well, his eyes closing in exhaustion. He fell asleep, just as quickly as she had.


End file.
